The Manchurian Candidate
by Omni-Obiter
Summary: - 'Though the Carnival is over, I will love you till I die.' The First District rises from the ashes, plotting the doom of the former HiME. In an elaborate plan they aim to set Shizuru against her fellows, 'An unwitting lion amongst lambs.' ShizNat
1. Chapter 1

**Hello once again. I present to you a ShizNat story of mediocre proportions, heh. No, I have high hopes for this one. My goal is lofty, but attainable. **

**Also, I'm looking for a Beta if anyone is willing. I must admit that my updating is not terrible frequent, but I make a point to finish what I've started. **

**The idea for this fic was taken from the political thriller novel 'The Manchurian Candidate.' Also, there's some research that the FBI supposedly did in the 60's and 70's involving the effects of Halucigenic drugs (i.e. LSD) and phsycho/electroshock therapy with the aim of creating a Manchurian Candidate that will be mentioned. **

**So yeah, let me know what you think and all ^_^  
**

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**The Manchurian Candidate**

In a dank, run-down building located in the industrial sector of Tokyo, remnants of a once powerful organisation gathered together like rats in a sewer. They came slowly at first but soon they were arriving frequently, sometimes in a group of two or more. Mostly protected from the elements but not much more they licked their wounds, compared their situations and most importantly, plotted revenge. It took a few months before they could account for all the losses they had sustained. Colleagues, equipment, property and vital research notes, killed, confiscated or burnt.

A particularly dismal winter's evening found the escapees huddled about a central meeting table that had been cobbled together using discarded materials they had found. Using the staff lists several members had salvaged they were coming to the end of ticking off those assumed dead. A haggard-looking man sat at the head of the table, trying to maintain some semblance of organisation as bickering broke out around the table, blame being tossed about as it so often had in the last few months.

The company was silenced when the heavy, reinforced doors of the abandoned factory were pushed open. They all froze, the hands of those who carried weapons were immediately occupied. These soon relaxed however, as everyone at the table recognised the woman who leant against the door-frame for support; the head of their research department, Doctor Suzumi Hokaido. Tucked under her arm was an accordion file, stuffed to the brim with papers that were threatening to break open the already worn looking cardboard. Immediately chairs were pushed back, scrapping against the concrete floor. A young woman went forward with a blanket, draping it around the shoulders of her one time co-worker. Some men offered her their arms for support and she gratefully leant on them after handing the files over to the haggard-looking man.

"General."

She said softly, belying her weakness. He nodded curtly and she was led away to the makeshift sickbay they had created. Thankfully a few of the doctors had made their way to the rendezvous point early on, and had been able to treat those who had come in wounded and ill. She would be fine in their care. Now that he held the folder, he also held the attention of all of the people in the room. They once again gathered at the table, bringing pens and expertise. One by one the files were drawn out and sorted. As they revealed exactly what research the Doctor had managed to salvage, a plan began to form in his mind. It would take some time, but he would avenge his people, the ones who had worked so hard toward their common goal. And he would restore the people around him to their lives and their families as quickly as he was able.

The HiME project had been by far the most interesting they had ever undertaken, and General Hatake intended to bring the affair to an end after obtaining as much information as possible. After all, it would happen again in the next three hundred years, and he wanted to make sure the First District was ready. He looked down the length of the table, taking in the faces of his only remaining lieutenant, three secretaries, two professors, several research assistants, guards and field agents. They were all that was left of his team, but they were more than enough. They had encountered the true power of the HiME and it had sent them all running in terror. It would be folly to send the next generation of their organisation into a situation they did not know the gravity of. Hatake would not have it. With careful planning and true understanding of what they were undertaking, they would succeed in better preparing themselves for the next time. And in the process they would rid the world of the HiME.

He remembered when he had first been offered the job of taking charge of the operation. They had emphasised just how powerful these girls would be, and how necessary it was that his team obtained the power of the star. It could lead to breakthroughs in energy production, space travel, technology in general, not to mention weaponry advances. The angle he had come up with was that while they were amazingly powerful they were still just girls, barely old enough to make decisions for themselves. He understood them to a point, having had a daughter around their age and also remembering his own youth.

That angle still applied even now, after all the destruction and mayhem. They were still in school and even though the events had surely changed them they were still only girls. It would require research and time on their part, but they had nothing but time now. The General no longer had a home to go to. His wife and daughter has been visiting him at his office, or had been about to when the rampaging HiME, known to them all as Subject Fujino had appeared in a whirl of flame and slithered across the car park on the back of her enormous CHILD.

He considered himself a brave man, but the sight of that girl had been enough to strike terror into the hearts of him and his most battle hardened men. That was nothing however compared to the horror and the overwhelming helplessness he had felt as a burning carwreck had been thrown by one of the seething heads of the CHILD, Kiyohime, onto his wife and daughter as they cowered on the ground. He had screamed then, rage burning in his veins as he took a soldiers shotgun from his limp grip, aiming both barrels at the ethereal girl that stood upon one of Kiyohime's heads. Her hair was fluttering around her face as hot air rose all around her, a Naginata was held tightly in a double handed grip and she levelled his gaze.

Ordinarily he would have shivered at the sight of those blood red eyes, but he didn't feel any fear as he kicked his desk over and knelt behind it, taking aim at her from the office which was missing a wall and half it's ceiling thanks to an errant swipe of the beasts tail. The CHILDs heads were raised by this time and when their mouths opened they exposed the frightening maw of a viper, all fangs and venom. Scarier still was the girls' apathetic expression as she bid the beast to attack with a slash of her weapon in the air. Not taking a second to think he had reacted on instinct and unloaded both shells into the first head without thinking. It blew a great, bleeding hole in its neck and the beast as a whole had recoiled. It was then that his men seized him and dragged him out of the exposed room and into the building. It had been a bit of a blur from then on, they had gathered as many of their number as time would allow, and left hurriedly, heading straight for the place they had arranged to meet in case of such an emergency.

Looking up from his recollection he noticed all of his companions were looking to him for direction. Clearing his throat he spoke,

"Friends," he began tenderly, "we all know what has brought us to this point. And I know that you are probably angry, hurt and afraid. But I doubt that we would have all gathered here if had not been for a common desire to not only continue our work, but also enact our revenge." A general murmur of agreement went around the table and several people nodded their heads. He continued, emboldened by the consensus of his team, "And so I propose a plan to all of you. It will take some time and may be dangerous but I assure you it will satisfy your thirst for revenge, and prepare those who would take up our work in the future." This was again met by approval and he smiled at them, "Prepare then for the reopening of project Manchurian Candidate."

Several gasped at the statement, looking to the general for further explanation, eyes wide with surprise.

"You will all remember the American organisation CIA worked on this particular project with some vigor in the nineteen sixties and seventies. And of course you will remember that it was shut down after they finally came to the conclusion that it was impossible to create a Manchurian Candidate, a perfect assassin." Again those present nodded, but with much less enthusiasm than before. Undeterred Hatake made to speak again, convinced that he could get them to see the light. "But my Friends, they did not have what we have now. The knowledge of the HiME, and their star, the kind of power we have at our disposal now. You may ask, and rightly so, about the relevancy of The Manchurian Candidate to us and our current situation. This is where we will extract our revenge good people."

With their curiosity piqued the remaining members of the first district leaned forward in their chairs. "Project Fujino will be captured, and programmed in accordance with the files we have on the Manchurian Candidate project which will of course have to be improved on." Leaving no time for interjection the General continued, "The idea, ladies and gentlemen, is that we will tap into that side of Project Fujino we saw that night," he shuddered involuntarily at the thought before speaking again,

"As I said, we will tap into that side of her, and reinforce it with the programming, before allowing her back amongst her fellow HiME. It won't be long before we trigger her into that state and allow her to witness her fellow HiME dropping like flies all around her, not knowing the cause as the others suspicions grow. An unwitting lion amongst lambs."

It was there that he paused and observed the others, scanning their faces for any sign of their approval. Slowly but surely whispers grew amongst the company, soon turning into full bodied voices shouting their consent. Applause was heard around the table and soon it broke down in to excited whispers once more. The General waited. He let their voices eddy around the once bleak and empty space, filling it with warm enthusiasm. When the talking died away and he found himself once again the focus of their attention, he spoke,

"And so, I'm splitting you up into operation teams as soon as this meeting is adjourned. If anyone has any objections, let them speak now."

There was a marked silence.

"Very well. With the absence of many of our top agents we're going to have to divide you into separate independent units."

With that he elected team leaders, gave each team a doctor, several research assistants, a secretary and an even numbers of guards and field agents. The end result was three groups, evenly matched in ability and skill. The first group was to organize the existing notes on the Manchurian project and add any of their own knowledge to the pool. The second was to go out and find as much information as possible on the project that they did not already have in their possession. The third were left with the daunting task of planning a kidnapping, one that hardly any of them wanted a part in. They set about their task with determination however, knowing that their plan hinged on their success.

Hatake sat at the head of the table, listening to the murmurs of group three from a far corner of the room. Satisfied that he had all of them occupied, the guards and agents included, he felt he could relax a little. He breathed a heavy sigh of relief and sank back into his chair. The first team was at the opposite end of the factory, talking in hushed voices. The second had already spilt up and left to go in search of information, in surreptitious disguises. Once the initial planning stage was over, he could allocate each of them to a job that required their skills specifically. For now it was good to keep them occupied. He had assigned himself a task also, and that was to make their current base of operations as livable as possible. He stood, arching his back subtly, feeling the joints pop and loosen. Clasping his hands behind his back he strode over to see how Dr. Hokaido was doing.

An IV drip was inserted into a vein in the crook of her elbow. She looked pale, but not sickly. One of the other doctors gave him a nod of reassurance and he smiled briefly, before turning back to the rest of the factory. It didn't take him long to gather what he needed from the chest in which they had stored all of their important possessions, files and money included. He took some of the cash, wrote it down in the record book and bid his goodbyes before heading out into the slow drizzle.

There were a few things he needed to pick up, food being the most important. His footsteps landed in shallow puddles more often than not, and he spent the walk listening to the wet echoes bouncing off the brick walls, a hand inside his long coat, clenched around the handle of a pistol. Even though his coat collar had been turned up for the walk, he still shivered as the occasional raindrop trickled down his neck. He finally emerged onto a street with some lights on, and a convenience store.

The white framed glass doors slid open automatically with a small melodic chime. It cheered him to some extent, all the light and the warmth in the little building. Nodding to the shopkeeper he immediately picked up several large bags of rice, some green vegetables and some cheap pork cuts. He also bought a large umbrella. With a parting wave he pushed the shopping cart he had put all the groceries into out of the sliding doors, balancing the now open umbrella over the contents. The walk back to the hideaway was just uneventful as the trip out had been. He was grateful to come in out of the rain and smiled as he saw everyone else still hard at work.

Before long Hatake had dinner underway. With a pot full of water suspended over a fire in an empty metal drum, he turned to prepare the vegetables. Their materials were limited, but he made do with a sharpened hunting knife one of the soldiers had donated to the cause. After the water had boiled he dumped the bags of rice in, causing the water to splash over the sides a little, hissing as it evaporated in the fire below. Hefting the pot over to the side of the drum, the General lay a flat griddle down over the fire, allowing it to rest on the rim on either side. Butter slid along the plate as it melted, leaving a glistening trail behind it. The pork sizzled as it hit the heat, as did the vegetables. Soon a delicious smell was circulating around the damp factory. All the groups were roused from their work, taking a moment to sniff the air before returning to their discussions, bellies rumbling in anticipation.

At dinner they ate quickly and thankfully, eager to share what they had learned and grateful that their general had provided. It wasn't long before all plates were cleared away and the talking began. The plan was laid out on the table, and taken apart. As they talked it became clear that they still had a lot of preliminary preparations to make. Dismissed and buzzing with excitement over the promise that the plan showed the First District members all pitched in to clean up after dinner. The General lay awake that night, listening to the combined breathing of his comrades that made it seem as if the building was sighing. There was so much he had to consider that his brain would simply not relax.

'After we gather as much information on the Manchurian project as possible, we cannot simply dive in. The HiME have proved to be wily, worthy adversaries.'

His tactical mind worked quickly, running through several courses of action and assessing their faults and merits. They needed to understand their prey, more than they did now. They needed to understand the other side of her, the one that they hadn't seen amidst the burning wreckage of their hard work, their slain friends and family; the girl as opposed to the monster. As they all rose in the morning Hatake sought out a man he knew specialized in reconnaissance, charging him with the task of observing the HiME, particularly project Fujino, in their school environment. Being a professional, the agent set out at once, promising to call and relay any interesting information as well as keeping a detailed file on the HiME's actions.

It was on a particularly hot day that he received the first report from his man, whose name was Wakaba. The information in the report was comprehensive, and a lot of things were discovered about their target. Her favourite subjects, food and people were presented first, and all could be used to the advantage of the cowed organisation. As he listened Hatake began to notice a pattern, and therefore a possible weakness. It seemed that Fujino spent a lot of her time with one of the other HiME, Kuga, and when they were apart Wakaba had noticed that Fujino was more often than not observing the other.

A fragment of a plan formed then, and it niggled at the back of his mind as he sorted through the more solid information his man had gathered. There were the obvious things; drugging her food and kidnapping her, waiting until she left the grounds and abducting her, but he couldn't help but shrug these ideas off as the plan in the back of his mind became more elaborate.

He sent the word to Wakaba after he had finished summarising the report to observe Kuga and Fujino equally. If their goal was revenge, and it most certainly was, why not drag Fujino through the mud as much as they could? If she was as attached to this Kuga girl as she seemed, then it would only make sense for her to attempt to rescue her should she ever be in danger. Group three were given the new objective and they set to the task with renewed vigor. Once they were finished however he would have to assign them to other tasks.

Hatake knew there was still a lot of research to be done on the Manchurian Candidate process. It would take a lot of work to make the perfect assassin out of a perfectly unwilling girl.

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**Well there you have it. I'd love to hear what you think. Until next time. **


	2. Chapter 2

**We all know I don't own Mai HiME and any affiliated characters/plot devices. However, this _is_ fan fiction, so I reserve the right to get creative!**

**Thanks to jquackers for their invaluable feedback! I hope you all enjoy this chapter =]**

**"_italics_" = text messages. Not sure if I'll use this in future chapters or if it's just a one off thing.  
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Shizuru idly traced her finger over the hardwood of her desk, leaning on her other hand in a bored manner that had a few of her fan girls gaping at her from across the room. She paid them no mind. In the background she could barely hear her teacher droning on about some battle or other in the Edo period, and ordinarily she would have been absorbed. Not since the carnival however. More often than not her mind wandered while her mask kept all observers under her illusion, but she had been slipping of late. That much became obvious when the ever gruff Haruka barged into the council room that same afternoon.

"What the heck is wrong with you Bubuzuke?!"

Shizuru started, another sign that she wasn't her usual self and Haruka scoffed, tapping her foot impatiently as she waited for an answer.

"Why, nothing at all Haruka. Are you so concerned for my well being? You shouldn't be so forward!" She exclaimed, batting a hand at the blonde girl and hiding her giggles behind the other. Blatantly ignoring the tease Haruka pressed on,

"You know very well that's not what I'm hawking about."

"Talking, Haruka." A small voice softly corrected her from the doorway. It was only then that Shizuru noticed Yukino Kikukawa. Most things were overlooked if they trailed in Haruka's wake.

'I should have known where Yukino would be, though.' She thought, smiling a little at the younger girl, who shied away, clutching her laptop even closer to her chest. Shizuru felt the movement like a stab in the heart, but she turned her attention back to the Director, trying her best not to show her momentary weakness.

"That's what I said, Yukino." And she was once again met by Haruka's determined face. "Well, president?" And she conceded, for once in her life.

"I've been thinking about,.. things that have already come to pass." She looked pointedly at them both in turn and then took to staring into the depths of her teacup. An awkward silence settled in the room and even Haruka felt it.

"Nonsense!" She said, a little softer than she'd intended. Clearing her throat the blonde tried again, "That's enough of that. We've got a detention to run!" With perfect timing the first "Delinquent!" slunk into the room and sidled into a desk. Soon silence once again fell on the student council room and all that could be heard was the soft tap of laptop keys, the gentle chink of china and the scratching of pencils.

The hour crawled and Shizuru entertained herself with watching the two other student council members intently. Every once in a while she saw them look to the other, glancing curiously at their countenance. She had a good idea of what they were both thinking, she had planted the seed after all. And it wasn't long before she was in the same memory.

She still felt that slap, and the snap of some thread that had been buried deep inside of her until that moment. The reign of chaos that had ensued. She vaguely remembered Natsuki screaming her name, pleading with her to come back. The First District had fallen under the blade of her Naginata, and the bite of her CHILD. There wasn't much she remembered about that part, except for the crackle of flames and the dying screams of many men.

"Bubuzuke!" Haruka bugled in her ear and she jumped back into the present, not ungratefully. "Detention is over." Unsure if it was wise or not Haruka chose not to say anything more about the Kaichou's behaviour. "Are you coming?"

"Yes." Came the quiet reply and they filed out, the door swinging shut and closing with an audible click behind them. They split off at the main exit and Shizuru strode out across the lawn toward the dorms. Just as she was about to reach out and push the door to the dorm block open she saw a mane of dark hair with the slightest navy tint whip around the corner of the building.

'Natsuki?' Without so much as a second thought she walked along the side of the building toward the corner she thought she has seen the other girl disappear around.

-

She was shocked when she almost ran straight into the other girl, who had her back pressed against the brick wall of the building.

"Ara, Natsuki. It was you." She smiled faintly. The younger girl seemed to fumble with words for a moment before replying,

"Yeah, what's up?" It was then that Shizuru noticed how close she was standing to the other girl, and took a step back where the light from the front of the building threw her features into relief.

"Ah, not much is up. What are you doing out here? Do you not have an apartment off campus?" Grumbling Natsuki frowned, kicking at the ground a little with the toe of her shoe. In the dark she looked even more shadowy and elusive, and Shizuru found it harder than usual to read the younger girls features.

"Unh, yeah I do. I was, ah, looking for some.." Shizuru watched as the younger girl cast her gaze around before coming to rest on a flowering weed that was flourishing between the cracks in the pavement. "Dandelions! Uh, yeah. Was going to make some.."

"Tea?" Shizuru supplied helpfully. The younger nodded, looking at the ground. The student council president felt her heart wrench in her chest. She knew Natsuki was lying, hell, Natsuki probably knew that she knew, and that hurt. It had been a couple of months since the carnival and they were still at this horribly awkward stage. Not that they were ever really at any other stage, except for the one where Natsuki was angry and suspicious of her.

It had been difficult, but she had begun to try and wean herself off of Natsuki; her presence, the memory of her, most things that she associated with her. There were times like now however, where she couldn't help herself. Thinking she had seen the younger HiME she had gone to investigate, and now they were talking, awkwardly, but talking all the same. Lapsing further Shizuru allowed the silence to hang in the air, observing the way Natsuki's hair fell about her face, and the shy yet defiant posture that only she could pull off. They stood like that for a few moments before Natsuki spoke,

"Erm, I have to go. See you later?" The older girl nodded in response and Natsuki pushed off the wall and walked up beside her. "Thanks Shizuru." And before her old friend could react Natsuki was off, walking hastily across the damp grass, bathed in soft moonlight. Words were caught in Shizuru's throat, and she turned to watch the stoic girl walk away, leaving even more unanswered questions in her wake. Finally she couldn't even see the shine of the distant girls' hair in the moonlight, and her shoulders slumped as she turned to walk inside.

Once she had scaled the stairs and let herself into her single room she collapsed onto the bed, casting her things to the ground. In the dark she imagined all kinds of things were staring at her from within the shadows. An uncomfortable prickle wormed its way up her spine and made the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. The Arrector Pili were doing their job alright.

'At least there's something going right for me.' The pessimistic thought floated across her conscious followed quickly by images of Natsuki. Her seemingly delicate hand ready to crush a flower, her asleep in the setting sun on the porch, her lips pressing against Shizuru's just before she blew them both to oblivion. That all seemed like a lifetime ago. Strangely that time seemed wholly less complicated than the present. 'We knew what we had to do before, and we knew what was coming.' Now Shizuru wasn't nearly as sure.

By all rights she should be dead. If she hadn't truly died when Duran had destroyed her CHILD, then someone surely should have killed her by now. Certainly someone would remember her face, even when it wasn't bearing an expression of complete apathy, and her eyes were clear of their murderous gleam? 'Perhaps not.' She thought, and for some reason she didn't feel very lucky. The mess they had all been left with had only really become evident recently. Most of them had spent the first few weeks celebrating, or hiding away. Now they all just had to get on with it, which was proving to be the hardest thing by far.

Sometimes remorse would creep up on her, wrapping first around her heart, and then spreading out to all of her limbs, numbing her with sorrow. It ached down to her bones and she would cry in shame, for each one of the lives she had taken and for how easy it had been. It was something she couldn't shake and like her daydreaming it was something she had to hide from everyone around her. More than once she had had to stagger into the girls bathroom or a storage cupboard to wait out the sobs that wracked her body. She had tiny nicks in her knuckles from where she had bit into them to stop herself from crying out in anguish. Subconsciously she rubbed her fingers over the scabs that had formed over her small wounds, remembering each time as she traced them.

-

Finally she dragged herself out of her recollections and got up to turn the light on. Putting the kettle on to boil Shizuru picked up her books and placed them on her desk. After brewing her tea, she sat down at the desk, now dressed in her favourite nightgown. Her homework certainly wasn't going to do itself, and she sighed, setting her cup down and picking up a pencil. Only sipping and the scratching of pencil on paper could be heard for the next hour, well that was until her phone chimed next to her, breaking the near silence. Her curiosity aroused Shizuru reached over and flicked the phone open to find a text message waiting to be read. Her heart skipped a beat when she read that it was from Natsuki.

"_Shizuru, are you awake?_" She cocked an eyebrow and looked at the time displayed on the tiny screen. It was only seven thirty. Of course she was awake. Did Natsuki think she was eighty or something?

"_Yes_," she typed out, "_Is something bothering Natsuki?_" and she pressed the send button. Snapping it shut and setting it down Shizuru returned to her work, half expecting no reply from the 'lone wolf'. Not twenty seconds later her phone went off again and she jumped a little.

'I really am startling easy these days. I have to be more aware.' She chided herself as she reached for the tiny purple device again, opening it with a practiced flick of her wrist.

"_Would it be ok if I came to see you?_" The words slipped into her mind slowly and set off a tingling array of nervous sensations.

"_Natsuki is always welcome._" She replied quickly and cast the phone back down onto the polished surface of the desk, almost afraid of the reply she might receive.

"_Ok. Be there in 10_." Shizuru swallowed thickly. Immediately she felt unsure. Her thoughts leapt about, and for a second she almost suspected that Natsuki was coming to cause her harm, before she dismissed it. There was something amiss certainly, but no matter what she couldn't believe Natsuki would ever set out to hurt her. She wouldn't let herself believe it.

Once again the pencil scratched away at the bleached paper as Shizuru killed time. It wasn't long though before she heard such a soft knock at her door that she almost thought she was hearing things. Then it swung inwards and Natsuki's head poked inside, smiling sheepishly. Shizuru found herself smiling back widely at the younger girl and standing, moving forward to greet her and beckon her inside.

The door shut softly behind the younger girl and immediately a serious look overtook her countenance.

"Follow me." Natsuki whispered, grabbing the older girls hand and pulling her along gently behind her. Ignoring the flutter in her chest the Kaichou nodded and allowed herself to be led. Natsuki led her around the outside edge of the room, circumnavigating the TV and a bookcase to reach the window where she knelt down. With a sharp gesture she drew Shizuru's attention outside the window, where from this angle Shizuru could see a tiny light on the far hillside. Her curious look prompted an answer from her friend,

"I've noticed that there's someone keeping an eye on us. They're camping out over there, and sometimes coming in closer, I assume for a better look." She paused, looking once again to the distant light and scowling. "He's been keeping an eye on us Shizuru, but my suspicions weren't confirmed until just before." She looked back to the older girl and her expression softened as she clasped Shizuru's two hands between her own.

"Uh,. I was going to tell you. You're,.. you're my friend and I just had to be sure." She entreated then, "You understand, don't you?"

Once again Shizuru was at a loss for words, and she could only nod in response.

'Natsuki is so sweet!' her mind squealed.

"So what do you think we should do?" her friend asked, forcing the older girl to find her voice.

"How did you find out he was observing _us_ Natsuki?" The younger girl looked a little offended that she was being questioned but replied promptly,

"I heard him making a report to what I assume was his boss." She paused, "Heard him say 'Project Fujino' more than once, which almost makes him sound like First District, doesn't it?" she questioned, turning once again to the Kaichou before realizing her indiscretion. Shizuru was silent, drawn into a recollection of the past, her lips in a tight line.

Natsuki glanced down and noticed their hands were still joined. She gently squeezed the older girls' hands and looked up to catch any reaction. With a notable shudder Shizuru seemed to come to. Smiling her apology at the younger girl she nodded in agreement. Then she noticed their hands herself, and made to untangle her fingers from Natsuki's only to find they would ensnare hers as soon as they were free.

She looked up and found herself staring straight into Natsuki's eyes, which were clouded with some unknown emotion. In seconds her mouth was dry, her throat constricted and she wrenched her gaze off the other girl.

"Sh..Shizuru." It was both a question and a statement, and she felt her heart quail in her chest. "I, I don't want anything to happen to you." She heard the dark haired girl clear her throat before continuing, "Eh,. Or Mai, Mikoto and everyone." She trailed off, looking to the other girl, her eyes widening in surprise as she saw Shizuru lunging at her. There was soft thump and a grunt as Shizuru tackled Natsuki to the ground. She hugged the other girl tightly, allowing herself, just this once to let her feelings show. Underneath her Natsuki had stiffened up and was blushing a violent shade of red. "I..idiot!" But no move was made to push the older girl away.

Shizuru relished the heartbeat she could hear from underneath the thick leathers Natsuki was wearing. It grounded her, and she released the biker of her own volition, sitting up before standing and walking into the kitchen, calling after her, "Would Natsuki like some tea? Or coffee perhaps?" If she had looked back she would have seen the expression on Natsuki's face, one of bewilderment, and the fist that was clenched over her heart, gripping the leather there.

-

Tea was served in fine bone china cups, with elegant handles. Ordinarily Natsuki would have made a point of not drinking it, (she found the taste reminiscent of grass and dirt) but on this occasion she made an exception, wrapping both hands around the cup and sipping cautiously. The warmth trickled slowly down her throat, spreading through her limbs and washing down her spine in a delicious wave. A dopey smile tugged the corners of her lips up, and she looked across at Shizuru who was obviously amused with her reaction.

The tea was light and sharp tasting, and spread pleasantly over her tongue as she continued to sip. They chatted quietly over several more cups, discussing what they should do about the obvious spy in their midst.

"We should probably tell the others, and decide on a course of action together." Shizuru suggested, watching for the younger girls reaction. Natsuki's face was set in a frown, and she concentrated hard on the table top, nearly boring a hole in it with her intense gaze.

"Uhn." She finally grunted in agreement, and cast her around the room, allowing it to catch on a clock on the far wall. "We'll tell the others tomorrow." Making to get up she continued, "I should go now though, or I'll sleep right through." She finished, laughing and rubbing the back of her head a little sheepishly. Shizuru smiled back at her,

"Of course. Thank you for keeping me in the loop Natsuki." Stopping herself from drawing the syllables of the other girls name out, Shizuru still found that it rolled off her tongue deliciously. With that thought she drew her bottom lip in and chewed upon it a little, recompense for her thoughts. There was a short pause before Natsuki actually made for the door, and Shizuru stood up to show her out. The goodbye was always a little awkward, as much as the hello and most everything in between.

Once there was a door between them Shizuru let out a soft sigh, pressing her back against the door and tilting her head backward so she could stare at the ceiling. What she was hoping to find there she had no idea, but it seemed to help calm her thoughts and soon she was able to go over to the desk and tidy her books. After she had put away the tea things she walked toward the bed and fell onto it gratefully.

Inhaling deeply Shizuru smelt the fresh clean cotton and immediately sleep beckoned her. It was an effort to get back up to peel the covers back, but she made it and was soon between the soft sheets. Her breath whispered out quietly as her eyelids drooped closed; finally falling shut minutes after her head had touched the pillow.

-

The next day dawned bright and clear. Shizuru woke to the sound of birds trilling in the trees outside. A pleasant breeze was trickling in through the open window and she got up to peer out through it, searching for signs of last night's specter to no avail. A blanket of green lay upon the hillside, undisturbed but for the occasional rustle of leaves in the wind.

A barely audible sigh passed her lips and her mind worked over the events of last night in chronological order as she brewed some breakfast tea. Today there would be a reunion of sorts for the 'HiME Rangers'. Just imagining being in the same room with everyone was enough to make Shizuru's skin crawl. That was if they could actually get everyone together in the same room. Surely there would be some old wounds that would be torn right open.

Shizuru gathered her books together and checked her reflection for any imperfections before bracing herself for the day and opening her door. As she stepped out into the corridor she saw several heads whip back around the corner near the stairs. Resisting the urge to groan she walked with perfect poise down along the hallway and managed to still look pleasantly shocked at the chorus of "Good morning Kaichou." That greeted her as she turned the corner.

"Ara, good morning." She replied with a coquettish tilt of her head, unable to hold back a real giggle as some of the girls swooned a little.

'Both a blessing and a curse.' She thought as she walked away quickly, hearing the first bell chime. She was able to convince them to let her go easily enough, but they had wasted enough time that she barely made it to her first class on time. Of course she breezed into the classroom looking perfectly composed and not the least bit harried. Taking her seat she flipped her book open to the appropriate page, even though she would probably only glance at it a few times during class.

Whispers darted around her and she passed the class in as much of a daze as she was used to lately. Once the teacher had called on her for an answer and she managed to fluke it, internally sighing with relief once his intent gaze had moved on, satisfied with her answer. The bell rang and she rose as quickly as the rest, weaving through them when she needed to, which wasn't often as they usually parted so that she could pass. A crackle echoed through the halls before a crisp voice sounded over the P.A.

"Professor Suigura will need to see the following students in her office immediately; Kuga Natsuki, Shizuru Fujino, Nao Yuuki, Yukino Kikukawa,.." Shizuru didn't need to hear the rest to understand that this was the meeting of the HiME she had been anticipating (dreading). With no small amount of reluctance she made her way to Midori's office, walking as slowly as possible. Of course once they had all arrived and the door was closed behind them the real discomfort began. There was a marked silence in the room as they all looked to the enthusiastic Midori for guidance. She herself looked rather pensive and hesitated before speaking in her almost unbearably genki way,

"Hi everyone!" there were a few muffled groans which she valiantly overrode by speaking once again, "I understand everyone is curious as to why we've been gathered here, but I assure you it's in the name of justice! Though, Natsuki knows more than I do, so I'll hand it over to her." There was some light and scattered applause from the smart asses, namely Nao, even though she scowled deeply once Natsuki took the stage. Nervously the dark haired girl shifted from one foot to the other before starting off rather lamely, though Shizuru hated to admit it.

"Er, hi guys." Again, silence. "Ehem. So we've called you here today to tell you about a possible threat to us, as HiME." Of course, it had been obvious from the beginning of the meeting who whatever it was would effect, but there were still urgent whispers and the sounds of nervous movement in the silence that followed the dark haired HiME's statement.

"Recently I've been feeling as though someone were behind me, watching whatever it was that I was doing. Of course, as soon as I turned around there was nothing behind me at all." There were some nods, and Nao snorted softly, earning a pointed glare from the Ice Princess.

"Yesterday I caught a glimpse of some substantial evidence; a first district agent, in the typical black suit. At least I'm fairly sure he was first district…" And then Shizuru was staring into Natsuki's eyes. The younger girl looked to be seeking confirmation, and it took a moment before Shizuru could gather herself together enough to nod in response. Her heart fluttered for a little while, the blood in her ears rushing so much that she was unable to hear whatever it was Natsuki said next. Thankfully she managed to repress a blush and tuned in to hear,

"..been watching us for some time, probably reporting back to the main group." Another low murmur went around the room.

"So what should we do then, pup?" Nao said as she filed her nails, not looking up to address the older girl. Natsuki's hands balled into fists as she replied,

"I was thinking we should take him out."

"Are you sure that's wise Natsuki?" Yukino said softly, pushing her glasses back up the bridge of her nose. Natsuki's jaw jumped as she tensed it,

"Would it be better if we let him spy on us?" she bit out. Yukino looked a little taken aback, before whipping out her reliable logic,

"Of course not. There's really no such thing as harmless reconnaissance, because they must be gathering information for a reason." She paused for a moment before continuing in a firmer voice, "Of course, I assume that's why we're here, to talk over different solutions to the problem. Sorry if it seemed as though I was ridiculing your opinion, Natsuki." Yukino finished, leaning back in her chair a little and allowing her gaze to slide from Natsuki to the wall behind her. It was Natsuki's turn to be shocked, but it wasn't long before she recovered. Clearing her throat she spoke,

"Right, thanks Yukino. Does anyone else have any ideas?"

"I vote we spy right back." Akira said, stepping forward as if from thin air. "I'll gladly observe this guy, in order to get a better picture of exactly what it is he's doing here." There were some nods.

"We could scare him off." Nao said, blowing on her nails and spreading her fingers out to observe them, now filed to perfection.

"How so Nao?" Mai asked, and I saw Natsuki bite back a laugh as Nao's eyebrow twitched. She turned a rather icy gaze on the buxom redhead before replying,

"I can be scary when I want to be, ne Tokiha?" Shizuru decided it was time to speak up before things got even more awkward. Just as she was about to say something Mikoto's stomach growled loudly.

"Mai, I want ramen!" she peered up at her friend, tugging on her sleeve to re-enforce her request.

"Gah, I'll make you some when we're done Mikoto. Do you have any ideas?" She shot a glare at Nao before turning back to her young friend who seemed to be seriously considering the question. When she spoke it was with a quiet deliberation that shocked most present,

"We could capture him, and question him." Her sharp golden eyes darted to Natsuki, "Depending on his answers we could set him loose or 'take him out'." She finished slowly, her gaze softening as she looked back to Mai for approval. There was something unnerving about the childish yet dangerous being that was Mikoto. By no means did Shizuru feel threatened, but it was still reassuring that Mikoto usually looked to Mai, a veritable voice of reason, before taking any course of action.

"I would have said to pray for him, once, but I have to say that now Mikoto's idea does seem like the best course of action." Sister Yukariko said, her hands folded neatly in her lap, her eyes intent on Natsuki. It was strange that in their little group that age was by no means an indication of authority. They were all in the same boat really. Natsuki had only really assumed the mantle of leadership this time around because she had the information. Midori just loved the spotlight, and being able to lead others forward under the 'banner of justice.'

"I must agree with Yukariko," Shizuru spoke up before anyone else could interject. There were murmurs of agreement; even Shiho chose to voice her opinion. Akane, now a much more confident young woman, spoke next,

"We should vote on a team to go out and get him. And we should probably do it on a weekend." She added, thoughtfully, "We don't want anyone stumbling across him or us interrogating him." Natsuki nodded, smiling at the other girl, who smiled mildly in response.

"Does everyone agree with that?" There were nods from most, and silence from the rest. "Ok, so who would like to go?" Akira, Mikoto, Natsuki and Nao put their hands up.

"Midori, this might be more your area." Natsuki said, looking at the older woman for guidance, "Which of us should go?" The teacher's eyes narrowed and an unusually serious look settled on her face as she looked the four candidates over.

"I don't see why you can't all go." She said, ignoring Nao and Natsuki's gaping mouths. "I expect you to work out a plan of operations amongst yourselves and report back to me before you carry it out." Then a playful grin quirked the corners of her lips upwards. "Dismissed!" and she saluted the motley group of four.

"The rest of you be sure to watch your backs and avoid discussing the plan if you can help it." Once again her serious gaze roved over the rest of the women assembled.

"Mai, can I have ramen now?" The redhead sighed and then ruffled the younger girls hair,

"Sure, but we're also going to talk about this 'mission'."

"Whatever Mai wants, yup!" Mai blushed faintly and waved at Natsuki before following the cat girl from the room. Everyone else dispersed slowly. Nao and Natsuki exchanged glares and Akira sighed.

"I'll come and find you guys tomorrow for a planning meeting." She stated, leaving no room for arguments as she turned on her heel and strode out of the room. Sister Yukariko and Yukino left the room together, speaking softly. Shiho and Nao left in succession and soon it was only Natsuki and Shizuru left as Midori went in search of Youko.

"You did well, Natsuki."

"Hunh? Oh thanks Shizuru." The dark haired girl said softly, looking at the ground.

"Natsuki will be careful near this man, won't she?"

Natsuki scoffed,

"Of course, I'll be fine." She looked up then, adding, "Thanks for your concern."

"Not at all, it's only natural to be concerned for ones best friend, is it not?" As Shizuru said this, she half turned from the younger girl, the words burning her throat.

"Ah, Sh,..Shizuru." then the air was heavy. The silence prickled at her and she couldn't resist turning to look at Natsuki once again. She was closer now, much closer than before and her hand was outstretched. With another step those soft, white fingertips came to rest on Shizuru's flushed cheeks. There was a pause, and no matter how many times she swallowed Shizuru couldn't seem to moisten her mouth.

A tangible hesitance surrounded the younger girl as she looked up at Shizuru, green eyes slightly hazy under the fluorescent lights. Shizuru burned the image of Natsuki's apprehensive, open visage into her memory, not wanting to forget the feeling that was swelling in her chest as she looked upon it.

Suddenly the door swung open and they sprang apart.

"Hey guys! Time for class, yeah? Don't forget to go to that planning meeting Natsuki!" Midori had skipped in completely unaware of what it was she had stumbled across, and there was no evidence left except for the surprised expression on Shizuru's face and the deep, red blush on Natsuki's. Grumbling the latter turned and left the room abruptly, not even sparing a glance for her friend, who stood rooted to the spot.

It seemed that things were only going to get more complicated from then on.

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**So there you go guys, the next chapter of The Manchurian Candidate. Thank you to those who have read, read and reviewed or put the story on alert. I have to admit I'm fairly slack on the updating/review response front, I won't lie to you. Hopefully any questions or hopes you have for the story will be seen to as I update, at an irregular rate. I am trying to work on this! **

**Cheers,**

**Omni.  
**


	3. Chapter 3

**Ok everyone, here's the next chapter. Be sure to let me know what you think! Thanks to pri815 for their help! **

**Everyone knows that I don't own Mai HiME =/  
**

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Agent Wakaba sat high in the branches of a strong old tree, his back propped against the trunk as he hastily wrote in a small black notebook. The tree in which he sat was on the fringe of the forest that covered the mountain behind Fuuka Academy, and it provided him with a good vantage point. The General was satisfied with his observations thus far, and they had almost finished drafting a plan to capture project Fujino.

It was lunchtime at the school, and the yard was filled with children sitting, playing, eating, and relaxing between classes. He had just spotted one of the objects of his observations blazing a path through other students towards a secluded corner of the grounds. Natsuki Kuga was a young beauty, he could admit that much, but that was hardly the purpose of his notes.

It wasn't long before there was a faint rumble as a motor was revved, and then a trail of dirt was kicked up behind the young girls' motorbike as it sped onto a back road that wound through the forest to join the coast road. He swung down from the tree nimbly, tugging out his radio when he reached the ground. He flicked it on, pressed a button, and spoke into it.

"General, I have a perfect opportunity to take Kuga captive. If it all goes to plan I can have her in my possession by this afternoon and to you by tomorrow. Do I have your permission to proceed?"

There was a brief silence before the line crackled.

"You have my permission. Of course, if this doesn't work out, make sure you aren't exposed. I'll expect a report if you do succeed, agent."

The voice cut off and Wakaba pressed the transmission button again.

"Understood."

"Very good," was the reply. "We'll be ready to receive you."

The conversation ended, and Wakaba walked back to his makeshift camp on the mountainside. He took his holster and fastened it around his torso, shrugging his jacket back on when it was secure. His GP 35 was transferred from his hip holster to the one strapped to his body. A small switch blade was concealed in his sleeve, and finally he scooped up a coil of rope before he strode out of the camp.

It took him a while to reach his destination. Admittedly his stiff, black leather shoes weren't ideal for traversing thickly forested terrain. When he saw the thick tread marks in the dirt he knew he had arrived. Following them to their origin he looked carefully to find the mark of the kick-stand in the soft earth.

If there was one thing he had gathered from his observation of Natsuki Kuga it was that she was a creature of habit, resistant to change. If all went well she would arrive back at the same place, just at the end of the school day. She had been doing the same thing for almost a week, and he was fairly confident today would be no exception.

He brushed out his own tracks as he went to find a place to hide. Another thing about Kuga was that she was pretty observant, when it came to those sorts of things, anyway. Wakaba had to stop himself from laughing out loud as occasions where the girl was so thick-headed it was unbelievable came to mind. He shook his head to clear away his thoughts, he couldn't be come too... familiar with these girls. They were the enemy, after all. They had destroyed his friends, separated him from his family and obliterated everything he had worked for. There would be no mercy. His knuckles turned white as he gripped a length of rope and crouched behind a thick, unruly bush.

It would be a long wait, but it would be worth it.

-

Natsuki dared to close her eyes for a second along a straight stretch of road, taking a deep breath in. She breathed out in a great rush of air and when she opened her eyes once more she was greeted again by the familiar sight of the bitumen rushing by underneath her.

That had been close, so very close. She could still feel the heat in the tips of her ears, and branded across her cheeks was a bright blush. She could still recall the soft, awed look on Shizuru's face as her own fingers had brushed the taller girls' cheek. Then there was the surprise as the door had opened.

'Damn Midori!' she thought. Though, in a way she couldn't help but be a little grateful for the intrusion made by the bumbling woman. If she was perfectly honest she had to admit she didn't quite have the nerve to... to what exactly? She still wasn't sure what it was that she was going to do.

It had taken a lot of thinking, and it had been difficult enough to admit it to herself. Soul searching wasn't something she was good at, and she had never really bothered with it until after the carnival. It was upon the realisation that she didn't know what she'd do without Shizuru in her life that she decided to start acting like the older girl mattered to her. Once she had started, it was so easy to just go with the flow. She came to realise that she had been monitoring her own behaviour subconsciously, for whatever reason, and now that she'd let go she found she was a lot less uptight. Aching muscles no longer kept her up at night, she slept soundly. The splitting headaches she used to get became less frequent and less severe. A smile was much more commonplace than a scowl.

Natsuki grinned as she lent into a curve in the road, loving the feel of moving in synch with her bike. She had followed a similar route around the outside of the island for much of the past week, before heading back to school. She found it was the best way to clear her head, and it had needed a lot more clearing than usual since the carnival. Everyone had just begun to settle back into the flow of things, and then the First District had to turn up.

Natsuki's grip on the handle bars tightened and she revved the engine, gaining speed along another straight stretch of road. Sometimes she almost expected to be tripped up and fly off her bike. Her eyes scanned the road for a red wire, glinting in the sunlight. She found nothing though, of course. Nao had lost her powers along with everyone else. This thought threw her mind back to the memory of Kiyohime rising, huge and menacing behind a composed Shizuru.

It had seemed that as they all cruised toward the huge, glowing, _grotesque_ HiME star their sins had been absolved. Soaring toward that common goal they had each surged with anticipation,

'Bring on the rest of my life!' she remembered thinking. And then everything afterward had been sweet and hesitant, like a first kiss. They were bonded by the horrific events, but it did not bind them to each other.

Haruka and Shizuru would be leaving for college soon, and though they had been staying to keep an eye on things until the next student council was decided, they couldn't stay forever. She knew they were both attending classes to kill time, and Fumi had allowed this on the condition that they really would leave for college when it was time.

Haruka lingered for Yukino, imparting random advice to the younger girl as they strode through the halls. And Shizuru? Who else would she stay for but Natsuki? But Natsuki was running out of time. Soon the world would swallow her friend up, and she would be left with nothing but an occasional phone call, or an odd letter. She knew it, could feel it in her bones so to speak, that she and Shizuru wouldn't last unless she made a conscious effort.

'I'll be damned if the death of a friendship that's been through so much is on my hands!' the fierce determination behind the thought spurred her back toward the school, back toward Shizuru.

Upon reflection, Natsuki realised that too many things were lost when you weren't honest about your feelings. Mai and Tate were a great example, they never said anything about their feelings until the end of the carnival and by then it was too late. That they were all revived was of no consequence. Had Mashiro failed in her efforts then that would have been exactly how things would have stayed. Even she had waited until the very end to realise her friends' feelings, and to soothe her desperate heart only after it had cause so much destruction.

Yukino never spoke to Haruka after what Shizuru had said; as she was in the same position she had always been, trailing after the brash older girl, rather than standing by her side.

'I can't make the same mistake twice.'

With a flick of her wrist she revved the motor as she hit the dirt track that led through the forest to the academy. So intent on her goal was she that she didn't notice the disturbances in the earth around where she rested her Ducati on its kickstand. Obvious brush marks on the loose earth escaped her attention as she reached up to remove her helmet. Then there was a flicker of black across her vision, followed by abrupt pressure around her wrists and throat.

Whoever had got her was binding her wrists close to her neck as she struggled to get free. It was virtually hopeless, but she didn't stop fighting, trying her hardest to push against the rope and make room to slip free. Soon though she was being dragged backwards, and she felt the knot tight against the base of her helmet. There was no way she could get a look at her captor unless they chose to stand in front of her, and they seemed to be making a point of avoiding doing that. The helmet cut off her peripheral vision and she concentrated on gasping for air though the (thankfully) open visor.

They travelled some distance with Natsuki being led, stumbling almost every step as she was forced to practically jog backwards. As she tried not to panic, her eyes darted around the forest that was passing quickly by her, looking for something she could use to get free. Her right arm brushed against a tree and Natsuki saw her opening. Jumping as high as she could manage she pushed off the tree with both feet as she was tugged. She heard an 'Oof!' and a thud as whoever was leading her hit the ground, breaking her fall.

By the voice she had distinguished her captor as male, but she didn't dwell on it as she struggled to her feet. As soon as she was up she began to run, only to be yanked back by the neck, falling flat on her back. With the wind knocked out of her Natsuki could do little but gaze up at the forest canopy and the patches of sky that could be seen in between the foliage.

She heard some muttering before feeling a sharp prick in her upper arm. Swinging her head wildly to the side, she tried to catch a glimpse of her captor. Only a hand holding a hypodermic needle was visible though, and she swallowed thickly as she watched a clear liquid being injected into her, millilitre by millilitre. It wasn't long before her eyelids grew heavy and her skin felt pleasantly warm. In what seemed like an hour to Natsuki, but was in reality only a minute or so, the young girl slid into unconsciousness.

-

Wakaba smiled grimly as the girls' body went limp. He tied the trailing end of the rope around her ankles as a precaution before he loosened the knots around her arms and throat. After tying her arms behind her back he removed her helmet, tying a strip of cloth over her eyes once it had come off. Then hoisting her over his shoulder in a fireman carry, he made his was to a waiting black unmarked van.

Sliding her into the back he shut the double doors. He left the signs of struggle in the dirt, tossing the girls helmet to the ground to goad the HiME all the more. He left his camp too, with clues to lead Fujino right to them. The final touch was a small bag of donor blood the doctors had given him. Slitting it open with his hunting knife he did his best to create realistic blood spatter, knowing that these weren't ordinary high school girls.

The though made him shudder, but he didn't stop until all the blood was spilt on the ground, staining the brown earth shades darker. Putting the empty bag back in the esky it had been stored in, he slid the side door of the van shut after checking on the girl once more.

With a tenuous grip on the doorhandle on the drivers' side of the van, Wakaba surveyed the scene for the last time. He had done everything the general asked, and then some. Not a thing was out of place and seeing that he firmly opened the door, stepping up and sliding into the drivers' seat. He made sure to gouge the earth with the back tires, creating such obvious skid marks that they couldn't be overlooked.

Red spots of paint marked the vans trail as it sped along the road toward the Fuuka ferry. The HiME would get this far and then be overcome with the possible places their friend could be. Of course, they had a plan for that. The First District would not be caught unawares a second time, the General had sworn.

Strangely enough no one was suspicious of a man dressed in a black suit, driving a black van and he made it to the mainland without having so much as a backwards glance thrown his way. From there to Tokyo was a breeze too, and he made it back to the base in the early hours of the morning.

He called the General from the car, so he wouldn't startle anyone who was on guard by lugging in an unconscious girl in the wee small hours. Hatake came out to greet him, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. With the Generals help he got the girl inside and onto a cot in the medical bay. The doctors immediately had her under observation as they too ran hands over their faces, scrubbing the drowsiness away. Wakaba and the general were sent to bed, the doctors insisting that they were used to odd hours, and that they would wake them if the girls' condition changed.

In the morning the girl slept on as the First District buzzed to life around her. Had she been awake there surely would have been quite a ruckus, but then perhaps not as the blindfold was still securely tied around her head.

It wasn't long after breakfast that the General called a meeting, and those who hadn't noticed had their attention drawn to the unconscious HiME in their midst. The excited chatter was allowed to follow its course before Hatake called the company to order.

"So you can see that stage one of the plan has gone off without a hitch." He allowed himself an indulgent, victorious smile there before continuing,

"All we have to do now is wait. Soon Project Fujino will reach critical mass, and we'll time our interference perfectly." He held up an envelope, which contained a single one-way ticket to Tokyo.

"We must remember that while she is no doubt the same one who caused such destruction," his voice caught, "... such mayhem, she no longer has her HiME powers." A perverse smile slid onto his face as he spoke. "Her emotions will be her downfall, as they were the downfall of so many of our comrades. She only needs a little... _encouragement_ to fall straight into our hands."

Wakaba felt a little uncomfortable as the usually affable general took on a much harsher persona.

"Exhibit A." The older man said as he gestured to Kuga, bound and blindfolded on a stark, white cot. There was applause and a great many compliments for the General and Wakaba both. The agent had to admit his professional ego was stroked by so many positive things being said about his skill and conduct, but there was still something about it that rubbed him the wrong way.

It was around this time that Natsuki finally began to stir. She groaned, blinking slowly as she opened her eyes. Upon seeing nothing but black, panic seized her once more and she sat bolt upright, realising her hands and feet were bound as she did so. Rolling with her hands bent in front of her she cleared the bed okay, but crashed into a trolley of medical equipment. An errant scalpel blade cut her forearms and she let out a yelp.

There was suddenly activity all around her. She heard chairs scrape on concrete and hurried footsteps before feeling several pairs of hands on her,

"Oi! Get off!" she yelled, twisting in their grip.

There were simply too many and judging by how high and far she was lifted, she ended up back where she had started, only with extra security. A rope now tied her to what she guessed was a bed, the thought causing yet another wave of panic to wash over Natsuki. She beat it back though, choosing to swear as foully as she could and recoil violently from any touch she felt.

"Bastards! Let me go! I wanna see your faces so I can beat them in!"

There were scattered laughs but she didn't allow herself to be cowed, continuing to cuss and squirm in the confines of her bindings. In the end though they must have gotten sick of her bravado as she felt the stinging prick of a needle again, before slowly loosing her grip on consciousness.

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**Tada! Please read and review. And if you don't, well there's nothing I can do about it, is there? Peace. **

**Omni.  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hi guys. I present to you the next instalment, heh. As you all know I don't own Mai HiME, Sunrise does. I'm just putting a delightful Yuri twist into an otherwise convoluted post-plot idea. Lol. **

**Thank you to all those who reviewed the last chapter. I truly do appreciate it. And thank you to pri815 for their invaluable feedback =].**

**Enjoy!  
**

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It was the morning of the day after the meeting when Shizuru began to worry about where Natsuki might be. Mai had called her, looking for the stoic, inky-haired girl because she missed the breakfast she promised to attend at the busty girls' dorm room. Shizuru was sorry to tell Mai that she hadn't seen Natsuki since yesterday afternoon, nor had she heard from her. The call ended on a fairly casual note with Mai claiming that Natsuki was probably just tweaking her bike or sleeping in. Though she was inclined to agree, the older girl could not help the twinge of worry that tugged at her heart. She chose to forgo classes for the day, calling Fumi to let her know. Of course it was fine, it wasn't like Shizuru didn't know the content.

Lying back on her bed Shizuru let her mind wander.

'If I were Natsuki, where would I be?' She had several ideas. There was that bar that Natsuki used to frequent back when she was a HiME. Shizuru knew the place because she had made a point of keeping a close eye on the girl. 'Can't say that I'm proud of that.' she thought, squeezing her eyes shut and gritting her teeth for a moment. Then there was her apartment, or maybe she had to take her bike to the garage? Casting her gaze around the room Shizuru searched for inspiration. Then her eyes landed on the compact cell phone that lay dormant on her desk and she very nearly face-palmed. It only took her a few seconds to type a message.

'_Natsuki, where are you?'_

-

Far away in Tokyo, Natsuki didn't feel her phone go off even though it was tightly tucked against her. She lay limply underneath the ropes that bound her to the bed. At the foot of it the General and Agent Wakaba stood close together.

"All in all it sounds a very satisfactory report, Wakaba." Hatake sent the other man a small smile of gratitude.

"I was as thorough as possible Sir. There is no way Fujino will be able to resist coming in search of this one." He indicated to Natsuki with a jerk of his head.

"Hm, the blood was a nice touch I think. Just enough to bring out the beast in that... _girl._" Once again an uncharacteristic sneer twisted the General's usually gentle features into an ugly mask of hatred. Wakaba found himself reiterating just what it was that these girls had done to them, to remind him of why he was doing all of this.

"They _are_ just girls though General. Now at least." He spoke before he could stop himself and looked almost fearfully at the General for his reaction. Hatake's face fell, and his shoulders slumped.

"I know Wakaba. I can imagine that most of them are fretting over exams and boys." He paused to rub a hand over his haggard visage. "But then I think that Kiko should be doing the same thing, and that Ami and I should be there for her to talk to." A wave of pain washed over the older man's face. Wakaba nodded solemnly, remembering the General's wife and daughter fondly.

Hatake looked up, sweeping his gaze over the people who were milling around the factory absorbed in various tasks. "And then there are all of you. Can you really deny that you want revenge for your friends, Agent? For all who died?" With a sigh Hatake looked down at Natsuki, supine on the makeshift cot. "Then there's our dedication to the First District. We've invested so much time and put so much hard work into achieving our goals. Now that we have the means to, who are we to back out when the betterment of all mankind is at stake?" Wakaba found that he couldn't form a coherent reply, and chose instead to simply nod once while looking as sincere as he could.

The General truly was a kind man at heart, but the Agent had no illusions that the recent happenings hadn't changed them all for the worse. "Very good Agent. I trust you'll see to it that we're ready for project Fujino's arrival."

"Of course Sir. I'll make sure she's.." He struggled to find the right words for a moment. "well received."

"Hnn." Was the only reply he received and he took his leave from the medical bay, sparing a backwards glance at the unconscious former HiME.

-

Panic set in, unbidden at sunset. As she watched the sun sink below the horizon Shizuru felt her heart sink, too. Natsuki had not replied to her message and she nor Mai had heard from the stoic girl since the early afternoon of the day before. She couldn't stand waiting any longer, she had ideas of where Natsuki might be, and she couldn't restrain herself from looking any longer.

Breezing out of her dorm room minutes later, dressed in casual clothing, Shizuru made her way out of the building and onto the school grounds. Ignoring the few fawning passersby she forged a path out the front gate and into town. Surreptitiously she crept along the back streets toward Natsuki's frequent haunt. The door to the place swung open easily after a firm push. The smog of cigarette smoke was nigh impenetrable, something she had been thankful for when she used to follow Natsuki. It wasn't helping her at that moment, however, and she sighed as she noted Natsuki's usual stool was vacant. The ponytail guy wasn't there either, so threatening him for information was out.

'Not that it would be effective without Kiyohime, or a Naginata.' She found herself thinking dourly. Her next stop was Natsuki's apartment, further from the school than the bar but not far from the bar itself. Trying to contain the anxious energy she felt herself exuding, Shizuru strode quickly through the halls of the dingy apartment complex.

After rapping on the door that barred the way into the apartment, she waited not so patiently. There was no reply. No cursing, shouting, grumbling or complaining coming from the other side of the door. 'Natsuki is more than likely not here.' Turning on her heel Shizuru made haste to her final destination. She arrived at the garage just as the mechanics were lowering the roller doors.

"Stop!" She found herself shouting, "Please, I just need to ask a question." Jogging toward them she tried to ignore the annoyance on the men's faces. "Are you mending a Ducati? For a Natsuki Kuga?" There was a pause and the men looked to each other, all business as they discussed their answer.

"Sorry lady. Last time we had Kuga's bike in here was over a month ago."

"I see." She said more to herself than the men and she turned to walk away, the bright flood lights outside the garage casting her shadow out onto the road. There was a high pitched squeal as the doors of the garage finally closed and not long after the lights flickered out. 'Now I'm really in the dark.' And she couldn't help but laugh humorlessly at her horrible pun. As she slowly made her way back to the academy she called Mai.

"Hello, Mai?"

"No, I'm afraid I didn't find her. Did you hear anything?"

"I see. Of course I'll help. We'll start in the morning, yes?"

"Wonderful. Call me if you see her? I will. Goodnight Mai."

An enormous sigh escaped Shizuru's lips as she collapsed back onto her bed. It wasn't long before she felt the compulsion to get up and continue her search, but she did her best to ignore it. It was the same urge she had gotten when she had seen Natsuki slip off into the night before the carnival, and occasionally during it. The first few times she had managed to repress it and stay in the confines of her room, pacing up and down the carpet like a tiger in a cage. Suffice to say it wasn't long before she gave into the urge and from then she had followed Natsuki from the moment she disappeared into the forest behind..

"That's it!" she exclaimed, leaping up in her excitement. "When Natsuki disappeared she'd go straight to her bike, which she hid in the forest!" she muttered feverishly, pulling on a jumper and tugging socks onto her feet. After rummaging through her cupboard she found some appropriate shoes. On one of their impromptu shopping trips Natsuki had convinced her to get these 'chucks'. She was somewhat grateful for it, as most of the shoes she owned weren't appropriate for hiking. 'Not that these are either, but they're better than nothing.' She ran her hands over her clothes, smoothing the jumper and jeans she was wearing.

As she strode out across the lawn she imagined she was looking at what Natsuki had gazed upon often. The forest looked wicked and dark, and the moon peaking over the mountain only served to make the shadows the trees cast look even more eerie. With a shiver Shizuru crossed her arms, clutching them close for warmth. It wasn't a particularly cold night, but the Fuuka air was always brisk, having blown right off the ocean.

If anything, Natsuki was a creature of habit. She slept late, ate a lot of mayo on just about anything, rarely showed tenderness or affection and she _always_ parked her bike in the same place. Shizuru found herself thanking any number of celestial deities for this blessing, even if it meant she had to put up with the less desirable habits. Seeing her greatest unrequited love slather bread with mayonnaise was enough to turn the gaze of even the most steadfast devotee aside, if only for the length of the meal.

When she opened her eyes not realising that she had closed them in the first place she was met with darkness. Pressing down the rising wave of panic, she pulled the torch she had thought to grab from her pocket and switched it on. The concentrated beam of light illuminated the path ahead which was littered with dead foliage and pebbles. Luckily the place that Natsuki stashed her bike wasn't too far in.

Shizuru emerged from the tree-line to find that the Ducati was resting against the same tree as always. Her head whipped around, her eyes searching the clearing to no avail. 'If the Ducati is here, where is Natsuki?' The beam of torch light skittered across the dirt, and that's when Shizuru saw the first footprint. It looked like a smudge of charcoal in the dirt but as she got closer she saw the distinct impression of Natsuki's shoe, the same as her own. To make sure she pressed her shoe into the dirt alongside the print, lifting it to note with grim satisfaction that it was in fact the same.

Casting her gaze around again she looked for more tracks. There was a trail leading to where the bike would normally stand. Shizuru approached slowly, warily. The sight of a different set of footprints made her heart jump and her breath catch in her throat. She blazed a trail behind the footprints, where they led away into the forest. There were certainly signs of struggle and anxiety pricked at Shizuru's skin. 'Please be ok Natsuki.' She thought as her eyes fell on the impression of a body in the dust.

It was with trepidation that she emerged into the clearing where the footprints had led her. The most obvious disturbance was tire tracks gouged into the earth on the far side. A strangled gasp escaped her throat as she spotted Natsuki's helmet on the ground. She couldn't stop herself from running to it and sinking to her knees, her fingers trembling as they slid over the slick enamel surface. Torchlight lanced along the ground from the discarded flashlight and Shizuru tried desperately to stop her lower lip from trembling. Her arms reached around the helmet in a hesitant hug, bringing it to press against her front. Her voice came out croaky, thick with emotion "..'tsuki.. Natsuki."

In that small clearing Shizuru Fujino cried very real tears, feeling helpless down to her bones. Before, a whispered word would have had her speeding away to wherever Natsuki was on one of the heads of her enormous purple CHILD. That was before though, and now she was just a girl; a former HiME, aware of such power but forever deprived of it. It took almost half an hour for her to compose herself but once she did, she stood - filled with renewed purpose. No matter where Natsuki had gone or been taken, Shizuru would find her. It was a promise.

-

Natsuki chose not to make a fuss when she next woke. It was quiet save for a few hushed whispers and the heavy breathing of people asleep. Gently she rocked from side to side in her bindings, trying to determine how much room she had to move. There wasn't a lot of leeway and she had to stop herself from cursing out loud. Judging by the lack of activity it was probably night, and if she could escape now would certainly be the best time.

Her hands were tied in front of her, and rested just below the rope that pinned her to the bed. If she could somehow slip free of the ropes binding her wrists, she'd be able to feel for the scalpel that had cut her arm earlier of the tray beside the bed. 'Please let it still be there!' By bunching her fingers together and tucking her thumb in, Natsuki began trying to free herself. She spent what seemed like hours trying to work her hands free. When she noticed it getting lighter, even through the cloth of the blindfold she decided to stop. It wouldn't do for these people to know she was trying to escape.

Soon there was bustle all around Natsuki and she worked on looking as unconscious as possible. She lay still as she felt a tight band being strapped around her bicep, 'taking my blood pressure?' Lying quietly she listened, making observations. She heard the soft kiss of a leather sole on what could have been a concrete floor.

The longer she lay still the more she was convinced there were only two people around the bed, and the one that was now taking a blood sample from the crook of her arm was a woman. The light steps had given her away, marred only by the soft, unmistakable click of a heeled shoe. The other was a man - if her deductions were correct - who stood at the foot of the bed and scribbled on a chart, his breathing rather heavy.

An odd thought occurred to her, 'Blind people must be able to hear things those with sight can't.' She found that as she lay there, still and quiet, a 3D map began to form in her head. It was only very rough, and she wasn't going to kid herself, probably very inaccurate. But her bed was at the centre, the trolley next to it. A bed to her left side, and a wall to her right. Several metres away there was a large group of chairs that she heard scrape across what she was suddenly sure was concrete on a regular basis. Common sense would dictate that these chairs were gathered around a table, or in a circle for meetings and the like.

She was fairly sure that there was a second level to this place, a loft of sorts, as she often heard the tap of shoes on metal ascending or descending. Her two 'companions' left her then and she simply lay still, ignoring the weak, sluggish feeling in the arm from which her blood had been drawn.

Tired from straining her hearing and her mind she sunk into the bed which was surprisingly soft. Staring at the only thing she could, the cloth of her blindfold, she let herself relax. Well, as much as one can relax when they're being held captive by a group of unknowns.

It wasn't long before she found the vivid memory of her and Shizuru standing in Midori's office floating across her minds eye. 'After all we've been through, things still haven't seemed to get any less complicated.' A soft sigh passed her lips, 'why can't it just be simple?'

* * *

**Thank you for your time =]. Leave a review if you are so inclined. **

**Omni.  
**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello again readers =]. I hope you all had a merry Christmas, Hanukkah or Yuletide celebration and a Happy New Year! Here is the next chapter of The Manchurian Candidate. Be sure to tell me what you think! :D**

* * *

It was early morning before Shizuru stumbled into her quiet, dark room. The bed beckoned her and she fell onto it, face first. Her limbs were heavy, and she felt completely drained as she slipped into a deep sleep. The next thing she was aware of was the incessant ringing of her phone, which she had had the forethought to place on her bedside table. The tiny device buzzed madly and Shizuru groaned, reaching out and slapping a hand over it, dragging it toward her. The caller display flashed up at her, dazzling her for a moment before her eyes adjusted. It read 'Mai' and after a few seconds Shizuru had the phone open and pressed against her ear,

"Hello?"

"Shizuru, are you ok!?"

"Yes, I'm fine Mai, why do you ask?"

"That message you sent me last night, did you find Natsuki?!"

'Oh, now I remember.' Shizuru thought drolly

"Ah, no I didn't find her, but I know that she didn't go willingly, where ever she went."

"What?! Tell me, what did you find??" And so Shizuru spent the next fifteen minutes going over what she had found last night. Mai occasionally broke in, to ask questions, probing for more information, and Shizuru told her everything; the tracks, the blood, the signs of struggle and the tire tracks in the clearing. There was a short, loaded silence after Shizuru finished, and she heard Mai breathing softly over the phone as her own thoughts raced to form plans and connect facts.

"What should we do?" Mai sounded uncharacteristically subdued.

Shizuru was about to reply with one of her half formed ideas when she heard a knock at the door. "One moment Mai."

"Of course."

She stood and brushed her clothes down, smoothing out the wrinkles that sleep had pressed into them. Leaving her phone on the bedside table once again, she went to the door and opened it, putting on a polite smile in preparation. Standing there was a shy Yukino, still a little mussed from sleep by the looks of it.

"Good morning president. Excuse the intrusion, but a letter came for you and we believe it requires your immediate attention." Her interest piqued Shizuru accepted the unassuming white envelope from the younger girl with a murmur of thanks. With a dip of her head Yukino retreated, and Shizuru withdrew into her room. She picked up her phone once again and tucked it between her ear and her shoulder,

"Mai?"

"Yes?"

"I just received a letter, sorry. Apparently it's important, I'm just going to take a quick look."

"Ok, I was just going to put the kettle on anyway." And Shizuru half listened as Mai shuffled about her kitchen on the other end of the line. The rest of her attention was focused on prising the letter open. A simply folded white letter fell out and she opened it without any undue ceremony. What she saw written there stayed her hand, and her breathing for a brief moment.

_Shizuru Fujino,_

_If you wish to see Natsuki Kuga again, you will take the airline ticket enclosed and catch a plane to Tokyo airport, where you will await further instructions. She is in no danger if you cooperate, but if you don't there could be consequences that would be disagreeable for Kuga. _

Below the short note there was an airline ticket, taped onto the page. It was for a flight that evening at 5pm. The letter may have been short, but the threat that it contained struck fear into Shizuru's heart.

"Mai?" she spoke softly, shock traipsing through her.

"Still here." A pause, "Are you ok?"

"The letter, Mai. Someone has Natsuki, and they want me to come to them."

A wordless exclamation burst through the receiver, "You can't go! It has to be a trap!"

"But they said they'd harm Natsuki if I didn't."

"Those,. Those bastards!" Neither girl said anything for a moment or two. Suddenly feeling very raw Shizuru felt tears coming to her eyes, unbidden.

"I can't not go Mai. You know I can't."

A soft sigh, "I know Shizuru. I couldn't ask you to stay." A sudden burst of laughter fought its way out from the depths of Shizuru's despair, taking them both by surprise.

"What's so funny?"

After a few more soft chuckles Shizuru replied, "Isn't it funny, that for all her bravado and the cold front she puts up, Natsuki still manages to bring other people together?"

"Heh, you know," Mai replied, "you're right."

Another soft, husky laugh, "All the more reason for you to get her back, Shizuru."

The seriousness of the conversation weighed down on them once again, all the levity drained out by the realization that their friend was quite possibly in very real danger. Then a strange thought came to Shizuru,

"Mai, who do you think sent this?"

"Well, I thought it would be obvious. First District, right?"

A horrible sinking feeling settled in Shizuru's stomach.

"Of course." She said quietly, dangerously.

-

Hatake leaned back in his chair, his fingers curling around the arm rests. There was little left to do now. Fujino would already be on her way if all went as planned. Kuga remained in their possession. They had gathered all of the supplies necessary for their operations and the general morale of the group was slowly rising.

Wakaba had proved himself a valuable asset. They had even developed a kind of friendship, staying up late into the night, going over the plans and making small talk. There was something missing from all the documents they had gathered from their various branches however. It was this that Hatake and Wakaba were discussing the night that Shizuru was boarding the plane.

"The Elder's records haven't been found yet. I can't help but feel the information they contain will be vital to the success of this operation."

The General rubbed the back of his neck absentmindedly, thinking.

"We have men looking for them General, though you know there's a good chance they didn't survive the fires."

"Of course, but without the old ones, it's hard to think of what to do."

Wakaba nodded gravely. He sometimes forgot about the heads of the First District, the bent, meek old ones. They had kept their own council, only occasionally handing down executive decisions to people like the General. There was an element of mysticism about them, but then there was about the whole 'Carnival'; the girls, the weapons, the beasts and the star itself.

Wakaba remembered coming out of his security course and applying at the place, thinking it was just like any other business. How wrong he had been. After rigorous testing he had been deemed acceptable and was put under oath. Then his intense training began. The end result was worth it though. He had truly come to believe in the mission of the First District. At least until the real mystical side of things came to light.

He had never suspected, never even dreamed that school girls could wield such power. That they could control weapons and beasts of unfathomable power and use them against one another, all to be the last one, the last HiME standing. Who wanted that title? 'The Queen of Hell'? It was monstrous. Wakaba was drawn out of his reverie by the sound of a plate shattering into hundreds of shards on the concrete floor below. He stood, visibly shaken before he collected himself. There were still things to do. He had to brief the security detail on the plans for that evening, for when Fujino would arrive in Tokyo airport.

-

Shizuru was never one to suffer from air sickness; in fact she never had a problem with motion sickness of any kind. It seemed as though this time was an exception however, as she couldn't quell the queasy feeling welling up in her stomach. Any thoughts of hunger were quashed as she sat rigidly in her seat, sweating bullets and trying not to focus on the growing feeling of trepidation she was having, or her nausea. When the plane finally set down, (touching down had been unpleasant to say the least) Shizuru had to fight to keep herself from clawing her way out of the 757, other passengers be damned. But if there was one thing Shizuru liked to keep up it was appearances, and such behaviour just wouldn't do.

Claiming her baggage was more of a chore than Shizuru remembered from previous flights. The constant urge to look over her shoulder had to be repressed and it seemed to take forever for her purple case to come around on the carousel. She didn't quite know why, but once she was towing some belongings behind her towards an indeterminate future she felt just that bit safer. That bit more assured of her identity and rights as a person. And it was with this thought that she crossed the threshold into the main domestic terminal.

Casting a searching look around the place she still tried her very best to be subtle, continuing to walk towards the exit as she ascertained her position. Then her eyes caught on an ordinarily insignificant object.

A small square of white cardboard, with her name printed neatly in the centre, held by a man in a black suit. So this was how the First District made itself known to her? She almost laughed out loud, it seemed entirely too pedestrian to be the work of such a sinister organization. The desire to laugh left her quickly enough though, and she was received with the enthusiasm of a Jew greeting a Nazi.

There wasn't even so much as a nod of acknowledgement, he simply turned on his heel, obviously expecting her to follow him. And so she did, swallowing thickly and trying to keep a handle on her irrational, fearful thoughts. An unmarked black car was idling in the shoulder of road designated for pick ups. She got into the back seat as the man got into the drivers seat. With a soft purr the engine started and they pulled out, heading towards the exit.

Nervously Shizuru drummed her fingers on her thighs. Her gaze darted around the car, never settling on one thing for too long. She hoped fervently that she wasn't being driven to her death. Concrete shoes? She hoped not. The idea of drowning terrified her. Fiery explosion? That was an unpleasant prospect, too. The sensation of being burnt alive was not one she wanted to experience. Clenching her fists into the material of her jeans she tried to look into the drivers eyes through the rear vision mirror. That proved to be impossible however because he was now wearing dark sunglasses. She hadn't seen him put them on.

The drive continued in silence, and more of Tokyo sped by them, mostly outlying suburbs. It was about twenty minutes into the car ride when they made a turn down a grimy side street and the car came to a stop. The agent opened the door and got out. Shizuru took that as her queue to do the same.

Looming above her was a warehouse, old and abandoned by the look of it. Again the man did not even turn to look at her, he simply started walking and she followed in his wake.

They halted in front of a huge double door. The agent appeared to be waiting for something and after a minute or so the large doors creaked open, revealing two more men who immediately passed their associate and grabbed Shizuru by the arms, none too gently. She pursed her lips tightly, refusing to give the brutes the satisfaction of knowing they had hurt her.

An old man stood expectantly just inside the doors, and she was thrown to her knees in front of him, kept down by her escorts. Shizuru did not struggle, her level gaze met Hatake's and she exuded a quiet calm. He looked down his nose at her, a hundred emotions surging through him threatening to break free. Settling on indifference he took a steadying breath before he spoke,

"Project Fujino, I don't expect you to know why you've been brought here but you must know we have Kuga." He watched her closely, looking for any little indicators, anything that might tell him what she was thinking. There was nothing though, he had to hand it to her; she had quite the poker face. After it became clear that Shizuru wasn't going to speak Hatake continued,

"You will cooperate or your associate will face the consequences." He nodded at the men that held her in place and she was hauled to her feet.

"What is this all about? You know the carnival is over, don't you?" Shizuru spoke, an incredulous expression on her face.

Hatake sneered, "Of course I know, insolent girl!" He looked once again to the men holding Shizuru. "Take her to her,.. lodgings." As she was tugged away she heard the man answer her question, albeit rather obscurely, "You are here so that we can enact our revenge, girl. You will pay for the hurt you've caused."

At that very moment Natsuki woke up and began thrashing in her bed, fighting against her bindings. She felt several pairs of hands attempting to restrain her and it only made her fight harder. "General!" she heard a yell from her right. Then there were footsteps and she heard a man saying, "Put her in the coma, now." 'A coma?!' "NO! Get away from me!"

They were nearing the end of a corridor when Shizuru heard Natsuki's voice. "NO! Get away from me!" There was no denying it. "Natsuki!" She screamed, trying to wrench her arms free of the vice-like grip the two men had on her. "NATSUKI!"

Natsuki heard her friends scream echo through the warehouse and her heart soared. "Shizuru! Help me!" She struggled harder still against the ropes that bound her. "Shizuru!"

The older girl turned furiously in the men's grasp, ducking behind one and levering the other into him using his grip on her arm. She tried to tear away, wrapping the second mans arm around his own neck and tugging away, down the hall, towards Natsuki. She stumbled, dragging the off-balance security guard with her. As she burst into the cavernous warehouse her gaze zeroed in on the sounds of conflict. A hypodermic needle slid easily into the fair skin at the crook of Natsuki's elbow. The clear liquid was pushed under her friends skin as several doctors aides restrained her.

"Natsuki!" It took a moment for her to respond to what she was seeing, but as soon as she adjusted she lunged forward, desperately trying to get to Natsuki. A strong hand clasped her arm, tugging her back and she collided with the broad chest of one of her captors. Without any fanfare she was lifted from the ground and forcible carried back down the hall. She fought in his grip, wriggling wildly, trying to catch a glimpse of the younger girl. Her peripheral vision snared the image of Natsuki sinking back onto the bed she was tied to, all tension drained from her body. "NATSUKI!" Shizuru screamed, making one last attempt to free herself. It failed however and she was thrown bodily into what could only be described as a cell. Soon all that could be heard from the tiny room were soft, muffled sobs.

-

The next day dawned bright and clear, but Shizuru didn't know that. She slept on, exhausted, tossing and turning in a fitful sleep barely facilitated by the thin mattress on the floor. A harsh knock niggled at the edge of her consciousness, before rousing her fully. Soft-skinned knuckles brushed the remnants of sleep from deep, burgundy irises. The door swung inwards, its hinges squealing loudly, causing Shizuru to jump and scuttle backwards until her back was flush against the rear wall of the cell. The older gentleman, who appeared to be for all intents and purposes the rag-tag bands leader, stood in the doorway. His expression was stern and he spoke without hesitating.

"Kuga will remain in a comatose state if you do not cooperate with us."

That's when she remembered, "Natsuki!" she made to get up and push past the General but he caught her fast, his grip crushing her slender wrists.

"Any attempts to see Kuga out of turn will result in severe punishment." He stressed the last two words, boring into Shizuru's eyes with his gaze before withdrawing a little.

He continued, "But if you acquiesce with our demands, then you may see her once daily, for a short while."

Shizuru returned his penetrating gaze, trying her hardest to find a chink in the armor, to try and determine if he was bluffing or not. There were no faults however, that she could detect and she became limp in his hold, submitting weakly. He released her then, throwing her away from him quickly, as if she were diseased. She gratefully retreated backward, sinking onto the flimsy mattress as the door swung shut in front of her.

That day she was served two meals; one a little after the General's visit and the other much later, presumably in the evening. They were both accompanied by two unassuming white pills and a glass of water. When the first had arrived a voice spoke to her through the door, barely audible even through the little flap at the bottom. "Take the pills after every meal. No exceptions." Of course she was apprehensive, and she spent some time gazing at the meal, the pills and the glass of water on their nondescript grey plastic tray. Quiet gurgles issued from her belly after a while, reminding her that she was indeed hungry. 'It's not as if I have much choice.' She reasoned before she fell upon the food, surprised at her own ravenous appetite. The next few days were much the same. Her meals came twice a day, and she ate them dutifully and swallowed the pills too.

Shizuru had intended to spend most of her time thinking of ways to escape, but it was becoming apparent that her thought process was inhibited somehow. She surmised that it was the pills, but found herself not caring too much. She was so listless in fact that she forgot to demand to see Natsuki, who she hadn't seen since the sedation incident some days ago. It all began to blur soon enough.

The meals were not the only highlight of her day, the pills were becoming a necessity. During the night she began to wake up, shaking and sweating and her condition was only alleviated when the pills arrived in the morning. At least she thought it was the morning, there was hardly any light and the amount there was happened to be constant, so there was no way to guess at the time of day.

On a particular morning the door swung open again, the light lancing into the room caught her attention, but did not quite break her out of her stupor.

"Project Fujino, come with me." She was pulled from her position in the corner of the room and hurried out into the corridor. They walked in silence down the hall before emerging into the main part of the warehouse. Shizuru's head lolled back slightly before she snapped it upright, trying to concentrate on what was happening. She found that focus eluded her though, even as she grabbed a thread of lucid thought it was torn from her.

It took a few moments for her to notice that they had stopped moving. Her gaze swung wildly around, trying to discern her surroundings. Then she saw her friend, pale and frail on a spindly trestle bed.

"Natsuki?" she reached out hesitantly, her fingers ghosting over the sleeve of the plain smock her friend was dressed in. A sick feeling settled in her stomach and her hand seemed to warp right in front of her, distorting as she tried to touch Natsuki, to confirm she was real.

"Natsuki?!" she tried again, starting to fear the worst. Soon both Shizuru's hands had found the younger girls shoulder, and she was desperately trying to elicit a response. "Please,.." her voice fell away as she tried to think of what to say. "Please, Natsuki." She finished weakly, falling to her knees beside the bed and weeping softly into the thin white fabric of Natsuki's hospital gown.

* * *

**Tada! R&R perhaps? Or not. Maybe just the first R. Goodness knows I'm guilty of only doin' the first of the two 'R's more often than not. **

**Cheers!**

**Omni.  
**


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